DARE TO BE HELPFUL: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Start

01 Sep 2014

(PDT)

End

30 Sep 2014

(PDT)

Location

United States - everywhere!

Somewhere between the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and Breast Cancer Awareness Month there’s September. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and this year we’re daring you to make a difference in the lives of the children and families affected by childhood cancer.

We dare you to do at least one of the following activities and directly impact a child with cancer. Once completed, dare a few of your friends to do the same. Feel free to upload pictures, copy and paste emails, or tell us a story about what you’ve done on our FaceBook page. If you don’t see anything you can do below, but want to help, get creative and let us know what you did. Your efforts will go further than you can possibly imagine.

Thanks in advance for your help!

WE DARE YOU TO…

Donate Blood or Blood Products

Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. Many of those patients are children with cancer.

To find a blood donation site near you, visit the American Red Cross or call your local hospital to see if it has a blood collection facility. Before you go, contact the site to make sure you are eligible to donate.

Join the Bone Marrow Registry

Every four minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer. Many of those patients are children needing stem cell transplants.

By joining the bone marrow registry (a mere cheek swab), your tissue type is kept on file so that you may be called upon if you are found to be a match for someone in need.

For more information and to join the registry, visit the bone marrow registry website at bethematch.org.

Donate Cord Blood

To date over 25,000 patients have been treated with cord blood to fight blood diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma. Cord blood, collected from an umbilical cord after birth, contains blood-forming cells that can cure many blood diseases.

For more information and to see if you are eligible to donate your baby’s cord blood, visit the bone marrow registry at bethematch.org.

Volunteer At Your Local Ronald McDonald House, Target House or Fisher House

Every year nearly 9 million families stay at Ronald McDonald Houses around the world. These houses, as well as Fisher Houses and the Target House, serve as a home-away-from-home for children being treated with cancer and other illnesses. Volunteers provide much-appreciated and much-needed support by preparing meals, cleaning the facilities, and donating goods and services needed for the duration of one’s stay at the House.

There are many ways you could be helpful while a child is hospitalized. Contact your local children’s hospital to get more information about how you can help.

Donate

If you've received this dare, you're among an elite group within the proverbial "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" from knowing a 1-in-a-million child who battled 50% survival odds of beating Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML). If you are not able to participate in any of the above dares, consider helping newly diagnosed JMML children by giving $25 to support our research, education, and support to families. Click here to donate.